Herbert Sutcliffe

Herbert Sutcliffe (born November 24, 1894, Summerbridge, Harrogate, Yorkshire, England; died January 22 1978, Cross Hills, Yorkshire, England) was arguably the greatest opening batsman in cricket history and undoubtedly one of the greatest players of any type the game has known. His Test batting average of 60.73 is the fourth highest of any player, and only Don Bradman's is more than a fraction higher. Uniquely, his average never dropped below 60 throughout his entire Test career — Javed Miandad is the only other man whose average never dropped below 50 in a career of at least 20 innings. Sutcliffe's first-class career batting average of 51.95 (according to Wisden, though Cricinfo claim 52.02) is bettered among batsmen who finished their careers with over 30,000 runs only by Hammond.

Rapid emergence

Though he had been earmarked for a career as an opening batsman by the outbreak of World War I, the war prevented Sutcliffe from beginning his career until 1919. In that season, Sutcliffe caused a sensation when he scored 1839 runs — still a record for a batsman in his debut season — for an average of 44.85. Even considering the weakness of English bowling after the war, this was an exceptional start and Sutcliffe was nominated as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1920. Though this start earmarked him for a great career, the following two years were disappointing even though it was thought he played better than his figures suggested. In 1922, Sutcliffe rebounded to the promise of his first year, scoring 2020 runs including a superb 232 against Surrey in a critical county match at the Oval. It was this innings that had Sutcliffe seen as an England batsman for the first time.

Related Topics:
World War I - Wisden Cricketer of the Year - The Oval

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~